Oil Tankers

Best of BS Opinion: NCLT courts must fix institutional gaps

From tribunal capacity and procedural certainty to tanker seizures that could hit India's economy, today's Best of BS Opinion also looks at Budget-impact laws, AI agents, and a book on sanctions

Shipping rates surge 467% on conflicts, sanctions, supply disruptions

Vessels are spending more time at sea transporting cargo, contributing to the spike, and several shipping executives expect tightness in the broader market to continue

Two tankers catch fire in Black Sea after being struck, crew safe: Turkey

Two tankers were struck and caught fire in the Black Sea, Turkish authorities reported, prompting rescue operations. Crew members on board both vessels were reported to be safe. The OpenSanctions database, which tracks people or organisations involved in sanctions evasion, described the vessels as shadow fleet or vessels used to evade sanctions imposed on Russia following its 2022 invasion of Russia. Turkey's Directorate General of Maritime Affairs said the first tanker, the Gambian-flagged Kairos, caught fire in the Black Sea, approximately 45 km off the coast of Turkey's Kocaeli province. It blamed on the fire on an external impact, without providing details. The Kairos was sailing empty toward Russia's Novorossiysk port, it said. Within the hour, the maritime authority reported that a second tanker, Virat, was struck while sailing in the Black Sea about 35 nautical miles off the Turkish coast. It did not provide further details. Rescue teams were dispatched to the scene to pro

Oil tanker with cargo from curb-hit Rosneft idles off Mumbai coast

The oil market has zeroed in on Russia's export patterns, as well as Indian purchasing, after the US sanctioned Rosneft and Lukoil PJSC on October 22

Yemen's Houthi rebels launch missile that lands near oil tanker in Red Sea

Yemen's Houthi rebels said Monday they launched a missile at an oil tanker off the coast of Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea, potentially renewing their attacks targeting shipping through the crucial global waterway. Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree claimed responsibility for the launch in a prerecorded message aired on al-Masirah, a Houthi-controlled satellite news channel. He alleged the vessel, the Scarlet Ray, had ties to Israel. The ship's owners could not be immediately reached. The British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre, which monitors Mideast shipping, earlier reported a ship heard a splash and a bang off its side near Yanbu, Saudi Arabia. From November 2023 to December 2024, the Houthis targeted more than 100 ships with missiles and drones over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. In their campaign so far, the Houthis have sank four vessels and killed at least eight mariners. The Iranian-backed Houthis stopped their attacks durin

Scrapping of US-sanctioned tanker in India shows dark fleet pain

Contract II, a decades-old tanker linked to Iran sanctions, was sold at a discount and dismantled in Alang, India, amid tighter enforcement and rising risks for ageing dark fleet vessels

Oil tankers going dark off Malaysia amid Iran-China trade scrutiny

Over recent months, more vessels have started switching off their transponders as they near waters off eastern Malaysia, a hotspot for the transfer of Iranian oil to China

India to invest $10 billion in homegrown oil tanker fleet by 2040

The purchase order for 10 tankers should come out as early as this month, the people said. Only ships built locally - even if there's foreign collaboration - will be considered for purchase

Germany calls Russian oil tanker adrift in Baltic Sea threat to security

An oil tanker believed to be part of Russia's efforts to evade sanctions went adrift and had to be towed by a German tugboat on Friday in what Germany's foreign minister called a danger to security and tourism in the Baltic Sea. The Panamanian-flagged Eventin was believed to be carrying 99,000 tons of oil from Russia en route to Egypt when it went adrift for several hours north of the German island of Rugen. The Bremen Fighter tugboat was deployed to pull the ship into a harbour, and there was no immediate danger to the environment, the German news agency dpa said. Greenpeace says that Eventin belongs to a so-called Russian shadow fleet, which is made up of hundreds of aging tankers that are dodging sanctions in order to keep oil revenue flowing into the Russian state budget. The sanctions were imposed after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that the incident shows that Russia is endangering European security not only with its w

Finland seizes Russian 'Shadow Fleet'-linked oil tanker over cable sabotage

Finland and European Union link undersea cable sabotages in the Baltic to Russian 'Shadow Fleet', announce sanctions

Of ships and tankers: India, refiners not breaking international sanctions

A US official involved in compliance said 'General Licence 93' allowed India to receive vessels owned by a sanctioned entity, Russian state behemoth Sovcomflot, which ships the bulk of India's oil

Attempts on to salvage oil tanker blown up by Yemen's Houthi rebels

A new attempt has begun to try to salvage an oil tanker burning in the Red Sea after attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels, a European Union naval mission said Saturday. The EU's Operation Aspides published images dated Saturday of its vessels escorting ships heading to the Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion. The mission has been actively involved in this complex endeavour, by creating a secure environment, which is necessary for the tugboats to conduct the towing operation, the EU said. A phone number for the mission rang unanswered Saturday. The Sounion came under attack from the Houthis beginning August 21. The vessel had been staffed by a crew of 25 Filipinos and Russians, as well as four private security personnel, who were taken by a French destroyer to nearby Djibouti. The Houthis later planted explosives aboard the ship and detonated them. That's led to fears the ship's 1 million barrels of crude oil could spill into the Red Sea. The Houthis have targeted more than 80 vessels wi

Greek-flagged ship on fire from Aug 23 post Houthi attack: EU naval mission

Houthis, who control Yemen's most populous regions, said on Thursday that they attacked the Sounion oil tanker in the Red Sea

French destroyer rescues mariners from tanker stricken in Red Sea attacks

A French destroyer rescued 29 mariners from an oil tanker that came under repeated attack in the Red Sea, officials said Thursday, while also destroying a bomb-carrying drone boat in the area. Yemen's Houthi rebels are suspected to have carried out the assault on the Sounion. The attack, the most serious in the Red Sea in weeks, comes during a monthslong campaign by Houthis targeting ships over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip that has disrupted a trade route through which $1 trillion in cargo typically passes each year. The Sounion is now at anchor in the Red Sea and no longer drifting, the European Union's Operation Aspides said. However, it wasn't clear if the vessel was still ablaze. The vessel had been staffed by a crew of Filipinos and Russians. Military officials did not name the French destroyer involved in the rescue. In the attack Wednesday, men on small boats first opened fire with small arms about 140 km (90 miles) west of the rebel-held Yemeni port city of Hodeid

Oil tanker capsize off the Oman coast, 13 Indians among 16 crew missing

The oil tanker, identified as Prestige Falcon, was heading towards Yemen's Aden port and capsized off near Duqm, Oman's prominent industrial hub

Oil tanker held by Iran for over a year reaches international waters

An oil tanker held by Iran for over a year after being seized amid tensions between Tehran and the United States reached international waters on Thursday, tracking data showed. The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Advantage Sweet travelled through the Strait of Hormuz, where it was seized in April 2023 by Iran's navy while carrying USD 50 million worth of oil from Kuwait for Chevron Corp. The strait is the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20 per cent of the world's oil passes. Tracking data analysed by The Associated Press showed the Advantage Sweet had been unloaded while in Iranian custody and that the vessel listed as its destination Khor Fakkan in the United Arab Emirates, which has been the first port of call for other ships leaving Iranian detention. Iran did not acknowledge the ship's departure. It came after an Iranian court earlier on Thursday ordered the US government to pay more than USD 6.7 billion in compensation over a Swedish company stopping its supply o

Yemen's Houthis strike again: Oil tanker damaged, US drone shot down

Houthis' military spokesman, Yahya Saree, claimed responsibility for targeting the "British oil ship Andromeda Star" in the Red Sea with naval missiles.

Oil tankers in short supply as Red Sea attacks divert global trade

Just two new supertankers are due to join the fleet in 2024 the fewest additions in almost four decades and about 90% below the yearly average this millennium

Kia recalls 4,358 units of Seltos to replace electronic oil pump controller

Kia India on Friday said it is voluntarily recalling 4,358 units of a petrol variant of its mid-sized sports utility vehicle Seltos to replace the electronic oil pump controller. The company is recalling Smartstream G1.5 Petrol Seltos with IVT transmission, manufactured between February 28 and July 13, 2023, the South Korean automaker said in a statement. The recall has been prompted by a potential error in the electronic oil pump controller, which may impact the performance of the electronic oil pump in the specified transmission variant, it added. The company said it has informed the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) about the voluntary recall initiative. Since the safety of car owners is a top priority, the company is proactively replacing the electronic oil pump controller in the affected units for a seamless ownership experience, the statement said. The automaker will directly reach out to the owners of the vehicles concerned to update them about the voluntary ...

Houthi attacks on Russian oil tankers complicate things for Indian refiners

Houthi attacks on Russian crude deliveries coincide with escalating US actions on ships carrying such crude, leading to double trouble for India